Mountings for rotary floor treating elements

ABSTRACT

A mounting arrangement for a rotary floor treating element, comprising a head unit carrying a driven shaft, a support plate adjustably mounted on the head unit for movement between an &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;operating&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; position close to the head unit and a &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;free&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; position spaced from the head unit, and releasable latch means for holding the support plate in the &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;operating&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; position, the support plate having means to support rotary floor treating elements in engagement with the drive shaft when in the &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;operating&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; position and to release them from such engagement when in the &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;free&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; position.

United States Patent [1 1 Johnston Jan. 21, 1975 1 MOUNTINGS FOR ROTARY FLOOR TREATING ELEMENTS [75] Inventor: Henry William Johnston, St. Albans,

England [73] Assignee: R. G. Dixon & Company Limited,

Middlesex, England 22 Filed: Aug. 13, 1973 21 Appl. No.: 387,676

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Aug. 14, 1972 Great Britain 37887/72 [52] U5. Cl. 15/49 R, 51/177 [51] Int. Cl A47l 11/16 [58] Field of Search 15/49 R, 50 R, 52, 87,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,938,300 12/1933 Sassano ..15/49R Primary ExaminerEdward L. Roberts Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Barlow & Barlow [57] ABSTRACT A mounting arrangement for a rotary floor treating element, comprising a head unit carrying a driven shaft, a support plate adjustably mounted on the head unit for movement between an operating position close to the head unit and a free position spaced from the head unit, and releasable latch means for holding the support plate in the operating position, the support plate having means to support rotary floor treating elements in engagement with the drive shaft when in the operating position and to release them from such engagement when in the free position.

10 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PATENTED JAN 21 I975 SHEET 2 OF 2 MOUNTINGS FOR ROTARY FLOOR TREATING ELEMENTS This invention relates to mountings for rotary floor treating elements, particularly brushes, mops and pads.

The invention consists in a mounting arrangement for a rotary floor treating element, comprising a head unit carrying a driven shaft, a support plate adjustably mounted on the head unit for movement between an operating position close to the head unit and a free position spaced from the head unit, and releasable latch means for holding the support plate in the operating position, the support plate having means to support rotary floor treating elements in engagement with the drive shaft when in the operating" position and to release them from such engagement when in the free position.

Thus in order to achieve release of the brushes or other elements, the head unit would be raised to lift the brushes on other elements clear of the floor, and the latch means would be released to allow gravity to move the support plates to the free position. The brushes on the units would then be free of the drive shaft and easily removed, e.g. by merely moving the machine back from the brushes which would remain static on the floor. Handling of the brushes, other than a lifting which can be done without touching the bristles would be eliminated. This is a big advantage with industrial floor cleaning machines in which the bristles may be very badly fouled with greasy deposits.

The invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a preferred form of mounting arrangement according to the invention, shown in conjunction with parts of an industrial floor-treating machine; and

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic plan view of the mounting arrangement of FIG. 1.

The mounting arrangement illustrated is for a twobrush head I mounted on the forward end of a machine 2 running on wheels 3. FIG. 1 shows the head 1 in raised position, and a brush 4 illustrated in that Figure is shown in full lines in the free position, and in dotted lines in the operating position. Each brush comprises a bristle portion 4a mounted on a back 4b, and the back has a central collar member 5 including a socket portion 6 and a deep peripheral groove 7.

The head 1 comprises a cover member 8 with a depending skirt 8a, and it will be appreciated that FIG. 2 is drawn with the cover member 8 omitted, apart from indicating the position of the skirt 8a. The cover member 8 has drive means (not shown) and drive shafts 9 for the brushes, and it will be seen that the drive shafts 9 carry spigots 9a which cooperate with the socket portion 6 to rotate the brushes.

A support plate 10 is provided with a Vshaped indentation 11 for each brush 4, and as can be seen, this indentation 11 is lined with a channel-shaped liner 12 of anti-friction material such as polytetrafluorethylene. The liner 12 cooperates with the groove 7 in the collar member 5, when a brush is deeply received in the indentation 11 as illustrated in FIG. 2, to entrain the brush in movements of the support plate 10.

The support plate 10 carries brackets 13 for a pair of pivot pins 14. A first support arm 15 interconnects one of the pivot pins 14 and a pivot pin 16 mounted on a fixed bracket 17 on the cover 8. A second support arm 18 has a pair of extensions 18a turned back to provide slots for co-operation with the ends of a pivot pin 19 mounted on a fixed bracket 20 on the cover 8. The opposite end the support arm 18 co-operates with the second of the pivot pins 14.

A sliding latch member 21 is guided by posts 22 and 23 on the cover 8 co-operating with slots in the latch member 21, and is urged by a spring 24 to the left as illustrated in FIG. 1. The latch member 21 carries a pair of hooks 25 co-operable with the pivot pins 14 to latch the support plate 12 in the operating" position, as illustrated dotted in FIG. 1. An upstanding operating handle 21a is provided to enable the operator to push the latch against the action of the spring 24.

In normal operation, the support plates 10 is latched in the operating position so that the drive shafts 9 are drivably engaged by their spigots 9a with the socket portions 6 on the brushes, and the head is in the lowered position so that the brushes are in engagement with the floor. When it is desired to change the brushes, the head is first lifted so as to provide a clearance between the brushes and the floor, i.e., the dotted position of FIG. 1, and the handle 21a is pushed to release the hooks 25 from the pins 14 and allow the brushes to drop to the full line position of FIG. 1 in contact with the floor, and with the socket portions 6 disengaged from the spigots 9a on the drive shaft 9. The machine canthen be backed off leaving the brushes where they are, so that they can be lifted by means of the back, without the need to touch the bristles 4a. Fresh brushes or other attachments can then be placed on the floor together in front of the machine, and as the machine is pushed towards them, the V-shape of the indentations 11 will ensure their corrent location as the liner 12 engages the grooves 7. Once the brushes are fully engaged by the support plate 12, it is only necessary to lower the head 1 for the brushes to take-up the operative position. When the head 1 has been lowered to cause the shaft end to enter the socket portion the spigots 9a will not normally be accurately aligned with the socket portions, and in order to ensure proper engagement between these parts, it is preferred that the drive shaft should be started in rotation when the head is lowered sufficiently for the shaft end to enter the socket portion. Proper engagement is thus achieved and the pivot pins 14 latch automatically into the hooks 25 which move against the spring and are drawn back by it to achieve the latching action.

It will be seen that the brushes are not axially re tained by the drive shafts 9, and that they have gimbal surfaces 26 co-operable with part spherical ends 27 of the drive shafts 9 to enable the brushes to take-up irregularities in the surface of the floor being tread.

Various modifications may be made within the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A mounting arrangement for a rotary floor treating element, comprising a head unit carrying a driven shaft, means adjustably mounting a support plate on the head unit for movement between an operating position close to the head unit and a free position spaced from the head unit, and releasable latch means for holding the support plate in the operating position, the support plate having means to support rotary floor treating elements in engagement with the drive shaft when in the operating position and to release them from such engagement when in the free position.

2. A mounting arrangement as claimed in claim 1, in which the head unit carries more than one driven shaft.

3. A mounting arrangement as claimed in claim 1, in which the driven shaft is provided with a rounded end, and in which the floor treating element is provided with a gimbal surface cooperable with the rounded end of the driven shaft and allows the latter to rock to conform to the variations in the floor while mataining driving engagement with the driven shaft.

4. A mounting arrangement as claimed in claim 1, in which the support plate has a V-shaped indentation associated with the driven shaft to guide the floor treating element to proper location in relation thereto.

5. A mounting arrangement as claimed in claim 4, in which the indentation is lined with a channel-shaped liner of plastics material.

6. A mounting arrangement as claimed in claim 4, in which a zone adjacent the apex of the V-shaped indentation is arranged to engage in a groove on the floor treating element to support the element in engagement with the drive shaft.

7. A mounting arrangement as claimed in claim 1, said means comprising pivot pins on the support plate and support arms mounted on the pivot pins and the head unit to mount the support plate adjustably on the head unit.

8. A mounting arrangement as claimed in claim 7, in which the latch means is releasably engageable with the pivot pins.

9. A mounting arrangement as claimed in claim 1 in which the driven shaft is provided with a plurality of drive spigots for driving engagement with corresponding sockets in the rotary floor treating element.

10. A rotary floor treating element for use with a machine having a mounting arrangement including a driven shaft with a rounded end and a plurality of drive spigots adjacent the said rounded end, and means independent of the shaft for releasably retaining the rotary floor treating element on the shaft in drivable engagement therewith, the floor treatment element comprising a socket portion including a plurality of recesses to cooperate in driving engagement with the spigots on the driven shaft, and a concave generally spherical gimbal surface for cooperation with the rounded end of the shaft to allow limited universal rocking to enable the treating element to conform to variations in the floor under treatment. 

1. A mounting arrangement for a rotary floor treating element, comprising a head unit carrying a driven shaft, means adjustably mounting a support plate on the head unit for movement between an operating position close to the head unit and a free position spaced from the head unit, and releasable latch means for holding the support plate in the operating position, the support plate having means to support rotary floor treating elements in engagement with the drive shaft when in the operating position and to release them from such engagement when in tHe free position.
 2. A mounting arrangement as claimed in claim 1, in which the head unit carries more than one driven shaft.
 3. A mounting arrangement as claimed in claim 1, in which the driven shaft is provided with a rounded end, and in which the floor treating element is provided with a gimbal surface cooperable with the rounded end of the driven shaft and allows the latter to rock to conform to the variations in the floor while mataining driving engagement with the driven shaft.
 4. A mounting arrangement as claimed in claim 1, in which the support plate has a V-shaped indentation associated with the driven shaft to guide the floor treating element to proper location in relation thereto.
 5. A mounting arrangement as claimed in claim 4, in which the indentation is lined with a channel-shaped liner of plastics material.
 6. A mounting arrangement as claimed in claim 4, in which a zone adjacent the apex of the V-shaped indentation is arranged to engage in a groove on the floor treating element to support the element in engagement with the drive shaft.
 7. A mounting arrangement as claimed in claim 1, said means comprising pivot pins on the support plate and support arms mounted on the pivot pins and the head unit to mount the support plate adjustably on the head unit.
 8. A mounting arrangement as claimed in claim 7, in which the latch means is releasably engageable with the pivot pins.
 9. A mounting arrangement as claimed in claim 1 in which the driven shaft is provided with a plurality of drive spigots for driving engagement with corresponding sockets in the rotary floor treating element.
 10. A rotary floor treating element for use with a machine having a mounting arrangement including a driven shaft with a rounded end and a plurality of drive spigots adjacent the said rounded end, and means independent of the shaft for releasably retaining the rotary floor treating element on the shaft in drivable engagement therewith, the floor treatment element comprising a socket portion including a plurality of recesses to cooperate in driving engagement with the spigots on the driven shaft, and a concave generally spherical gimbal surface for cooperation with the rounded end of the shaft to allow limited universal rocking to enable the treating element to conform to variations in the floor under treatment. 